


Leech

by TheAwkwardPinCushion



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-29
Updated: 2015-01-18
Packaged: 2018-02-27 10:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2689049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAwkwardPinCushion/pseuds/TheAwkwardPinCushion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anecdotal Anders lying in bed with femHawke after a long day and finds a thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Calliope had fallen asleep no more than an hour ago. Her arm was draped over Anders' middle and one of her legs was tucked between his. Her black hair was almost tickling his jaw. He ran his fingers through it, making her unconsciously snuggle into his shoulder closer.  
It had been a rough week.

Cali always wanted to take the most damage of the group – to protect the others, she would say. Anders would have none of it, of course, and used most of his energy to heal her when she was hurt. It took a toll on him, but he believed that she was worth it.

This week was no different. She always was at the front of the group with her daggers. For being a rogue, she wasn't very stealthy. She liked to scream and yell and carry on while she hacked away at their enemies. Fenris found it annoying. Varric found it funny. Anders just wished she would take better care of herself.

She had a few scratches on her arms. Probably from falling. I swear, she's the epitome of grace on the battlefield, Anders thought, but Maker forbid she not fall on her arse when she shops in Lowtown.

Cali had tripped (she swears the ground was uneven) on her way to the Hanged Man. Anders fussed over a small scrape she had on her arm. She just laughed it off.  
Anders hated seeing her hurt. He wrinkled his nose at the scratches on her arms. Might as well...she can't get too mad at me for it, he thought. He hovered his hand over said scratches and the familiar feeling of static-like healing magic protruded from his fingers.

There was something wrong. There was something... _else_. Anders hovered his hands over her body, trying to find the abnormality. Find it he did.

He felt something pulling the magic towards Calliope's belly. Since that was pressed against Anders' hip, he had to settle for her side.

The.. _.leech thing_ was very small. It was around the size of a blueberry. It didn't seem to be giving Calliope any pain. She hadn't complained of any discomfort. Then again, she _never_ does.

There was a time, not long before then, when Calliope sustained a rather nasty gash on the back of her leg. She didn't say anything until she nearly collapsed in Anders' clinic. He sighed, remembering.

_“Fuck,” she grunted, her leg giving out._

_“Hawke!” Anders said. He half-carried her to a table and made her sit. “What in the Void?” He looked at the leg that had betrayed her._

_“You need to tell me when these things happen,” Anders said quietly. He went to a cabinet and grabbed a numbing paste for the pain._

_“I don't want to be a burden,” Calliope said, almost too quiet to hear._

_Anders turned and looked at her. He had never heard her say..._ anything _quietly. There was something wrong._

_“You're not a burden, Cali,” he said, matching her volume. His brown eyes met her green ones. “You've never been a burden.”_

_She snorted. “You're a bad liar.”_

_Anders crouched and began carefully spreading the paste onto the gash on her leg. He didn't say anything to her after that. He was too worried that he would make her upset._

_Once the paste was spread evenly along the wound, he let the staticy feeling of magic run down his fingers and onto her calf. He watched the wound close and leave a pink scar._

_He stood up. He looked at her again, and there really was something wrong. She wasn't making jokes like she usually did. She always tried to lighten the mood somehow. This is different. This is wrong._

_“I wasn't lying,” he said. She wouldn't meet his eyes. “You've never been a burden to anyone here.”_

_“I don't believe you.” Calliope started to stand._

_“You should rest for a while. There's only so much my magic can do. You have to do some of the healing yourself,” Anders said._

_“Anders...” Cali started to argue. She finally met Anders' gaze and sighed. “Fine. I'll stay for a moment or two.”_

It was hard to believe that the pair had gone from that, to lying in bed together.

Bed... Anders thought. He could feel the blood draining from his face. The leech.


	2. Chapter 2

Calliope slept late that day. The only time Anders thought that she would wake was when he untangled himself from her. She screwed up her face and grumbled for a few moments, but when he ran his fingers through her hair, she settled back into sleep.

He grabbed his coat and made his way to his clinic, chastising himself.  _Should've been more careful. Wouldn't be in this mess if I'd just not been so...fuck._

He couldn't even think of words. He was angry with himself, and terrified. When he unlocked the wooden doors of the clinic, he got directly to work, trying to distract himself. He scrubbed tables and made sure everything was organized. He did basically all there was to do, and when he realized that he sunk into his chair, face in his hands. He was so  _fucking_ angry. It was his fault. He was the healer, he should've been more careful.  _Fuck._

He was already off to a bad start, he realized. He didn't even leave a note for Calliope explaining his disappearance. He was tempted to walk back to Hightown to explain himself, but he decided against that. If he saw her now he might explode.

Justice was buzzing disapprovingly in his head, and he felt the smugness of the spirit. He so wanted to tell it to fuck off, loud and clear. He almost did.

He busied himself with the manifesto, hoping that it would at least dull Justice's buzzing. It did not.

He desperately tried to find a way that he could be wrong. He could've dreamed the whole thing. Maybe he did. Fucked up dream, though. He shook his head, knowing that wasn't the case. He couldn't think of anything else the... _leech_  could be. 

"Anders I have a problem," Isabella said behind him, breaking him away from his frantic thoughts.

"Again?" he sighed, looking at her over his shoulder. Isabella gestured at him rather rudely as he stood up.

"That's not even what I meant, you twat," she said, "I needed, erm...protection."

"Don't we all," he grumbled, shuffling through his cabinets until he found what she needed.

"Did you say something?" Isabella asked. She wasn't being rude or sarcastic, but sincere for once. It almost startled Anders.

"No," he said. He had answered too quick, though, too snappy. He cleared his throat. "I-ugh. Isabella, I appreciate you worrying. It's none of your concern."

"I think it is," she chimed, hoisting herself up onto one of his tables. "If it's what I think it is, anyway."

Anders suppressed the urge to glare. "What do you think it is?"

"You fucked up somehow," she said, "and you don't know how to fix it. It's making you look even more tired than you usually do."

"Thanks."

"I'm serious."

He looked up at her, and she was. He could see it in her face. She was concerned for his well-being. The sentiment was sweet, but he wanted to tell her that he wasn't the one she should be worrying about. Calliope was, and it was his fault. He fucked up.

"I'm fine," he lied. 

"You're a terrible liar," Isabella said. She slid off her table and grabbed his chin between her fingers, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "What did you do?"

"It's nothing," he pleaded.

"It's obviously  _something,_ " she said, "and it seems to be something  _big._ "

He sighed, pulling away from her too-closeness. "I fucked up."

"That's obvious," she drawled. She was drumming her fingers on her thigh, waiting for a more in-depth explanation. " _How_ did you fuck up?"

He let his head bounce off the wall behind him, closing his eyes and hoping that the slight pain would snap him out of his resistance. "I really don't want to get into it," he said. He wasn't lying - he didn't. He didn't want the problem to exist. He wanted to go back in time and punch himself in the face for being so stupid.

"I feel like it'd be best if you did."

"You're not gonna let it go, are you?"

"You wound me," she laughed, "of course I'm not. Something juicy is going on, and I want to be in the loop."

"It's not  _juicy._ It's fucking terrifying and horrible and I fucked up  _so bad._ "

Her eyes lit up with understanding. " _No._ " she said. Her mouth quirked up in a smirk, "No  _way._ "

"Don't say it."

"There's a little baby Anders somewhere, isn't there?" she asked, her grin making her look absolutely wicked. 

"Fuck off, Isabella."

She had struck a nerve. "How ironic," she said, "that the healer would be the one to knock a girl up. Who is the lucky lady? Did you use the electricity trick on her? I want to know  _everything,_ "

Anders and Calliope had not been very vocal about their relationship. Granted, they basically jumped into the sex. Sure, they flirted, and she was indeed assertive, but there wasn't anything there until Anders let himself snap. And now, he was facing the repercussions. 

"It's...fuck. It's..." he couldn't get the word out.

"Shut  _up,_ " she said, her grin fading and her featured twisting into shock and concern. "How far is she?" Her voice was soft and understanding, and she understood the nerves. 

"I don't know, it's early. She doesn't even know yet," he sighed. He sank back into his chair. "How could I be so stupid?"

"It's not entirely your fault," Isabella said, swaggering to his side. "This sort of thing happens."

"Not to people that have the weight of an entire city on their shoulders," Anders said. He rubbed his temples _._ "How am I-how are  _we_ going to make sure it's okay? That it's fed and clothed properly, and not to mention that it wouldn't get the attention it needed. Babies are so  _fragile_ and I'm so scared that I'm gonna end up breaking it."

"You're not gonna break your baby," Isabella soothed, moving behind him and moving his hands away, replacing them with her own. She massaged his head, trying to alleviate the pressure from the stress. "If it's any consolation, it's gonna be the prettiest baby in Kirkwall."

"That isn't helping," he sighed, leaning into her hands. He let his eyes slip shut again. "And Calliope is going to be  _pissed._ She won't want to stop fighting, but if she keeps going...who am I kidding? She might not even want to keep it. I might have to terminate the pregnancy that I caused." The words were tumbling out of his mouth now. He couldn't stop them if he wanted to. "I don't know why that upsets me so badly. I know it shouldn't and I should be okay with it not being there."

"But now it  _is_ there and it's a real thing to you," Isabella said, "and you're not sure if you want to let the idea go."

"How are you so understanding?" Anders asked, looking up at his friend. 

"I've been through some tough shit," Isabella said, laughing to lighten her tone, "I'm here to pass down my knowledge of past fuck-ups and how to deal with them."

"That's not it, though."

"I don't want to talk about it," she said, her voice no longer light, but stern and final. He didn't push any further. 

"She's going to hate me," he said, defeated. His shoulders slumped and he tried to push the negative thought from his head. "I fucked up so bad, Isabella."

"I know you did," she said, her usual mirth and playfulness seeping back into her voice slowly. "There's nothing you can do now but be there for her decisions. And no, you don't get a say. She's going to be the one pushing it out of her cunt, she gets to decide if bringing your little mage baby into the world is worth that."

"I can live with that," he said. His eyelids were getting heavy, Isabella's fingers pushing and kneading him into fatigue. "Mm, Isabella, stop. I need to be awake."

"Aw, I was looking forward to taking advantage of you," she joked. She removed her fingers and stepped back. Anders laughed. 

"Maybe next time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anders with a dirty mouth is the best Anders.
> 
> And also, Isabella and Anders' friendship gives me life, just saying.


End file.
